Broken and Mended
by Charis77
Summary: Arthur is awakened before dawn to deal with an angry lord's accusations against his manservant. What trouble has his friend managed to get into this time? Set between series 4 and series 5.


Weary and vexed, Arthur marched to Gaius' chambers. The sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon when he'd been roused from bed by a guard. Lord Clavell had arrived at the citadel, ranting and raving. The nighttime guards had attempted to calm the irate man, but he insisted on waiting until he'd seen the king. It was Gwen, always an early riser, who had come upon the disturbance and thought it best Arthur be informed, though she hadn't done it herself. Arthur admired her wisdom—she knew his ugly mood when stirred from a comfortable slumber.

After growling at the guard but hearing the reason for infringing on his sleep, he'd reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, hastily dressed, and stumbled to his receiving room. He'd summoned the lord and listened to a tirade of accusation and violation. And that's why he now found himself yawning and perturbed, opening Gaius' door.

Arthur wasn't a dunce. That Merlin was the root of the trouble he believed, but that his manservant deserved all the lord demanded was rot. Even so, he still had an incident on his hands, one he must conclude before rumor and gossip ran rampant.

"Gaius. I need to see Merlin _right now_ …" His command faltered as his stomach dropped. Gaius had been bent over in front of a chair, but in turning to greet Arthur revealed Merlin in a state he hadn't expected. Merlin for his part glanced up, blue eyes flashing, angry and defiant. Arthur paused, assessing the man's condition.

An angry cut gashed across Merlin's forehead drew his attention first, not bleeding now, but probably only just stemmed if the bloody streaks below it were anything to judge by. Two welts about three inches in length decorated each cheek, and his bottom lip had been split. Arthur moved on to the man's arms, slashes in his shirt sleeves revealing more marks and cuts. Arthur slowly circled the chair and, as he suspected, discovered other wounds to his back. He stopped in front of his manservant.

"Start talking."

Merlin replied bitterly. "You already heard Lord Clavell's side, then."

"Did he do this to you?" Arthur waved one hand at his face.

Merlin shook his head.

"Who?"

Merlin exhaled a long, pained breath. "His watchman."

Arthur knew the man—ridiculously muscled and relentless in his protection of his lord's lands. Merlin dipped his head and cradled his left hand close to his chest. Arthur narrowed his eyes and reached out, gently cupping the closed fist. "Show me."

Merlin's Adam's apple bobbed, but he complied, uncurling his fingers. His wrist and palm were seared with vivid red lines, probably when Merlin had held up the hand in defense.

"How in the heavens did he get you in a position to do all this?"

Merlin snorted derisively. "You may have noticed he's rather large. He's skilled with a horsewhip, too."

Arthur quashed the rage building inside at the way his manservant had been mistreated. If Merlin had been sneaking around the lord's lands, the watchman would have assumed him nothing but a common thief. "Lord Clavell is demanding retribution in rather colorful terms, the least of which is a sustained lashing."

Merlin clutched his fist to his chest again. "He already got that."

"He alleges you trespassed on his lands to steal his horse."

"I wasn't stealing it," Merlin bit back.

"So, you did mean to take it."

"Save it."

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "Since when did a horse need _your_ gallant efforts."

"He was going to kill it!" Merlin shouted.

Arthur lowered his hand, taken aback. "The man pays more than I do for most of his mounts. I highly doubt he would kill them."

"Go see the horse, Arthur."

"Merlin—"

"You don't believe me. Fine." Merlin stood and stomped to his room, or at least tried to. He sucked in a pained breath and struggled up the steps with a hand on the wall to steady his ascent.

Arthur caught himself from following. Berating and chastising the man would gain him nothing right now.

"Sire?" Gaius spoke.

Arthur watched Merlin disappear into his room.

"Merlin wouldn't do anything without cause."

"That fact won't placate Lord Clavell."

"Merlin doesn't deserve to be punished."

Arthur rolled his eyes to the older man, a father to Merlin more than anything else. "You'd take up for him no matter what he did."

Gaius' expression bore no change, but his silence spoke volumes.

Arthur sighed. "Take care of him. I won't send guards to haul him away if need be. I'll come myself. Let no one in to see him until I return."

Gaius nodded, and Arthur strode to the exit.

* * *

As the sun rose, Arthur reined in his horse next to a stable. He looked over his shoulder at the knight he'd asked to accompany him, counting on his impeccable discretion. "Leon, I want you to go find the watchman. Interview him."

"Yes, sire."

The curly haired knight trotted off towards the house. Lord Clavell's lands rested just outside of Camelot. The noble had been made lord by his father at the dawning of his reign and had remained a staunch supporter and trusted councilor throughout his life. Arthur respected the man, but considered him stodgy, archaic, and stymied in his thinking. Still, that he had transferred his loyalty to Arthur meant a great deal and offending the man was out of the question.

Arthur dismounted, rankled, clenching and unclenching his jaw. Curse Merlin for putting him in this position! What could possibly have driven him to be even more of an idiot than he was?

Arthur entered the stable. It was in disarray, presumably not picked up since Merlin's struggle with the watchman. Arthur knew the horse he was looking for; Lord Clavell had described it in detail, jabbering on and on about its exorbitant value. Arthur stopped pacing when he spied it.

The bay stood against the far wall, ears flicking, head turned his direction. Arthur lifted a lantern from its hook and approached to inspect the steed. The bay immediately backed up until its hindquarters brushed the back wall. It tossed its head and puffed several strained breaths. Arthur gave it a wide breath, holding the lantern up to obtain a broader view. The horse's eyes had tightened, wary and fearful. Its shying away didn't bode well, and the light from the lantern revealed the reason for its agitation.

The bay's sides and especially hindquarters were striped. It had clearly been beaten with a crop, and maybe a whip. It was thinner than Arthur liked to see his own horses, perhaps refused food for misbehavior. Arthur pinched his lips together and held out a hand to indicate he was no threat, moving closer. The horse squealed shortly and stamped its back hooves. Arthur stopped, distressed at scaring the poor creature.

Arthur ran the hand he held out over his forehead instead. He could see it all now. Merlin had somehow become aware of the horse's abuse. Unable to stomach it, he'd snuck onto Lord Clavell's lands intending to remove the horse and squirrel him away heavens knew where.

Arthur backed out of the stall, hung up the lamp, and left the stable, then leaned against its outside wall. He covered his eyes with his hand, trying to think. What Merlin had done was honorable, but entirely foolish. Arthur hated to see a horse ill-treated as much as anyone, but Lord Clavell had broken no law. He was allowed to treat his possessions as he saw fit.

Arthur fisted the hand covering his eyes. If he didn't find a way out of this, the lord would see to it that Merlin was treated as he saw fit as well, thoroughly beaten down just like his horse.

"Sire."

Arthur looked up to behold Leon. "Report."

"The watchman claims he shadowed the intruder once he caught sight of him."

Arthur noted Leon avoided using Merlin's name as if wanting to distance himself from tattling on the servant they all respected. "He didn't call out a warning or ask for identification?"

"No, sire. He waited to see what the intruder would do. When he entered the stables, the watchman took the opportunity to…pounce on him."

Arthur snorted. Beat him senseless, more like it. But obviously Merlin had escaped. "And then?"

"The intruder fled."

"He knew it was Merlin?"

"He… _says_ he did not."

Arthur lifted his right eyebrow. "You believe him?"

"I…" Leon sighed. "Not fully." Leon's shoulders deflated. "And not simply because Merlin's involved. He hesitated too long when I asked. I think he might have known the moment Merlin stepped foot on the lands."

"And he attacked anyway," Arthur spoke without emotion.

"Sire…Arthur…"

"Speak freely, Leon."

"Lord Clavell hasn't been pleased with your…trust in your manservant. His dislike is well known to those in his employ."

Arthur worked the ring rounding the pointer finger of his left hand, rubbing it over and over with his thumb. "You think he ordered Merlin attacked?"

"No, but I believe his watchman wouldn't have felt any qualms about Merlin."

Arthur pushed off the stable wall. "How is the watchman?"

"Sire?"

"What is his condition?"

Leon tilted his head. "He is unscathed."

Arthur nodded once, approaching his own horse. "We return to the citadel."

* * *

Arthur entered Gaius' chambers for the second time that morning, though the sun now shone, illuminating the physician's living area. Gaius fixed him with a guarded expression from the table where he'd been crushing herbs.

"How is he?" Arthur asked.

"Patched up. He'll be sore for several days."

"I need to speak with him."

Gaius glanced at Merlin's bedroom door. "Last I looked he slept."

Arthur proceeded to the steps and up. The door was cracked open and he pushed it farther. Merlin lay on his back, left hand bandaged and laying over his chest, rising and falling in cadence with his breath. Arthur stared for several seconds. Merlin's soft-hearted ways usually disconcerted him, but this time he agreed whole heartedly. He wistfully wished he could show his emotions as freely as his servant, but he was king. He needed to appear unmoved and resolute, unruled by every flighty thought.

Arthur scooted a stool over to the bed and sat, then patted Merlin's cheek. "Hey, idiot. Wake up."

Merlin's eyelids fluttered open, and he gasped and flinched back, until his gaze steadied and he recognized the man at his side. "Arthur," he breathed out.

Arthur was strongly reminded of the bay backing away, fearing more hurt from his hands. He firmed his jaw. Lord Clavell had done this; well, his watchman, made his manservant afraid that someone else would lash out at him.

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest. "You'll be pleased to know I talked Lord Clavell out of a flogging."

Merlin stared apprehensively when Arthur didn't continue fast enough. "So instead…"

Arthur ignored his implication that something else was due him. "I saw the horse."

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "You did?"

"I understand why you did it, but it was still stupid. Why didn't you tell me?"

Merlin's expression hardened. "You would have told me to leave it alone."

"Maybe not—" At Merlin's raised brow and know-it-all expression, Arthur stalled. "You're right. I would have said it wasn't your place."

Merlin sank back against the wall, resting his back along his pillow. "I didn't want to cause you trouble. It's just…I couldn't not do anything."

"Like always."

Merlin huffed a breath, looking down at his lap. "I never really did much with horses until I came here."

Arthur wasn't surprised. He recalled the dearth of horses in Ealdor.

"There was a neighbor's horse I rode sometimes when I was a child, but…" He looked away to the window.

"You can't start a story then stop," Arthur prodded him.

Merlin looked back to him. "He loved his horse and one day she went missing. We found her stuck in a bog. The villagers tried to get her out and couldn't. _I_ couldn't." Merlin's eyes misted. "He stayed with her until she died."

Arthur recalled the times he'd looked in on Merlin in the stables. Most of the time he'd shown up to make sure the man mucked properly, but he'd also caught Merlin offering his horses apples, brushing them down without being ordered, and letting them nuzzle his hand.

"I had to do something this time, Arthur," Merlin spoke vehemently.

Arthur unfolded his arms, resting his hands on his knees. "When I was five, I accompanied my father on an inspection outside the city walls, and we came upon a farmer repeatedly striking his workhorse when it wouldn't move." He paused. Merlin's gaze had locked on him. "My father ignored it. We passed by a week later, and the horse was gone. Worthless, the farmer said. I'm not sure if he sold it or something worse happened to it."

Arthur shifted uncomfortably on the stool and continued. "Horses are noble creatures, Merlin. I sympathize with you, but you shouldn't have trespassed a lord's lands. Don't do it again."

Merlin grimaced. "Yeah…So not a flogging. What then?"

"Come with me."

* * *

Merlin walked next to Arthur under his own power but slower than usual and his jaw terribly stiff. Arthur could tell he was refusing to give any voice to the pain he had to be experiencing. Arthur's hands balled into fists. After seeing the horse in Lord Clavell's stable, all he'd really wanted was to get back to the citadel, order the lord dragged to his throne room, and declare the man should receive the same as he'd given the horse and the watchman the same he'd given Merlin. But that would have made a bad situation worse.

When they reached the royal stables, Arthur gestured for Merlin to go ahead. Merlin eyed him, suspicious.

"Please don't tell me my punishment is mucking out again. It's disgusting, Arthur. I always end up covered in dung."

Arthur shook his head as he ran an eye over the crusted wound decorating Merlin's forehead, the pink lines on his cheeks, and the scab on his lip. "I think you've already received your punishment."

"You got him to give it up?"

Arthur nodded.

"How?"

"I implied that if he decided to pursue a charge against you, then he might also have to face the consequences of beating the king's trusted manservant before affording him an opportunity to explain, especially as his adverse feelings towards said manservant are well known."

Merlin grinned but winced at the pain. "Why are we here then?"

Arthur pointed. Merlin cautiously entered the stables. Arthur pushed him in the back and directed him to the last stall.

Merlin's eyes widened at the bay occupying it. "The horse."

"I also added that since his horse seemed to be causing him too much trouble, it might be better if I took it off his hands, and that if he would consider the matter closed, I'd gladly offer substantially more coin then he paid for the mount. So in the end, Lord Clavell came off ahead, I think."

Merlin was staring at him, almost as if he didn't know him.

Arthur waved at the horse. "While you're here, you might as well see to him. He's yours."

Merlin's eyes about popped out of his head, and Arthur had to bite down to keep from grinning.

"You'll need to take it slow. He's pretty skittish."

"Arthur. You…you…"

Arthur turned Merlin by the shoulder to face the stall. "It's about time you have your own horse. You can stop forcing my royal mounts to carry your sorry weight."

Arthur clapped him on the shoulder and retreated. When he looked back from the doorway, the horse had shuffled to the edge of the stall, his head leaning towards the manservant. Merlin spoke gently, then met him forehead to forehead. His bandaged left hand stroked the soft muzzle, and the horse nestled into the kindness.

Arthur smiled, assured that together, man and horse would recover from the unjust abuses of power.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This fic was inspired by a sweet picture of Colin Morgan with his arm round one of the horses on Merlin. I like the idea that at some point Merlin is given his own horse.


End file.
